Sir William Petty, Ireland, and the making of a political economist, 1653–871

This paper offers a reassessment of the origins and derivation of many of Sir William Petty’s economic ideas, based on an analysis of his unpublished papers. Petty’s archive makes clear what a large part Ireland played in his writings, and it is suggested that this preoccupation is essential to an appreciation of him as an economist. It also demonstrates the point that Petty was not principally a theorist but rather a practical political economist whose schemes for the enrichment of the king’s dominions were inspired by the underdevelopment which he experienced at first hand in Ireland.